Bamboo merchants in Arakan State face losses amid rising transport costs

02 Feb 2023

DMG Newsroom
2 February 2023, Sittwe

Bamboo entrepreneurs in some Arakan State townships are exporting bamboo to mainland Myanmar, but they are facing losses due to the high cost, according to people who work in the industry.

Bamboo from Arakan State’s Ann and Taungup townships is exported to mainland Myanmar by road, but bamboo entrepreneurs are having a hard time due to standard transportation expenses and money paid to junta soldiers and police at security checkpoints along the way.

“When we export bamboo from Arakan State to mainland Myanmar, we have to pay money at security checkpoints along the road in addition to the cargo costs, so the total transportation costs for a vehicle amount to more than K200,000,” said Daw Mar Tin, a bamboo entrepreneur from Hsin Khon Taing Village in Ann Township.

One-hundred pieces of bamboo can be purchased for K35,000 in Arakan State and exported to mainland Myanmar for K60,000, but bamboo entrepreneurs cannot make much profit due to the high cost to ship their product.

U Aye Tun, a bamboo merchant in Ann Township, said he used to be able to export more than 1,000 pieces of bamboo three times a month to mainland Myanmar, but now, due to the scarcity of local bamboo and fewer bamboo cutters, he can only export about 900 pieces of bamboo once a month.

“I make a living as a bamboo merchant. We now face bamboo scarcity and are able to export about 900 pieces of bamboo once a month,” he told DMG.

Bamboo cutters are also facing difficulties due to the scarcity of bamboo in townships such as Ann, Taungup and Mrauk-U. The workers say that in the past, they could harvest on average 100 bamboos per day, but now they can only cut about 50 bamboos.

U Zaw Zaw Win from Mrauk-U Township said that he previously earned more than K10,000 a day cutting bamboo, but now only earns about K7,000.

“We rely on the forests for our livelihood. Our livelihood was OK before commodity prices went up. We’d cut down about 150 bamboo pieces. We are now struggling to make ends meet as our daily income is around K7,000. We have no [alternative livelihood] choice, so we have to earn a living by collecting bamboo” he said.

Arakan State’s bamboo industry is centred on Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Mrauk-U, Ann and Taungup townships, with bamboo exported to Bangladesh in addition to being shipped to mainland Myanmar.